Japan is known for its healthy diet and impressive life expectancy. But it is also a smoker’s paradise. Although the number of smokers has dropped by a third over the past 20 years, more than 17 million Japanese smoke regularly. The authorities are trying to make more public spaces smoke-free, but it is an uphill struggle as old habits die hard. Gabriel Chanéac, Alexis Bregere and Justin McCurry report.
France banned smoking in bars and restaurants in 2008. But in Japan, smokers can still puff away in smaller establishments.
